IDOT grants Washington $6.53M to help neighborhoods affected by tornado

Monday

Jun 16, 2014 at 10:44 PM

Steve Stein of the Journal Star @SpartanSteve

WASHINGTON — A city starving for good news got a double dose of it Monday.

Mayor Gary Manier announced at a City Council meeting that Washington received a $6.53 million check last week from the Illinois Department of Transportation for repairs in tornado-affected neighborhoods.

“That’s about what we asked for,” Manier said.

The mayor also said an IDOT road project that has closed busy U.S. Business Route 24 at the railroad viaduct just west of the downtown square since mid-May should be completed by Thursday.

“I’m sure it has seemed longer than (a month) to the businesses around there,” he said.

The IDOT money is part of a $45 million state package promised by Gov. Pat Quinn for communities hammered by Nov. 17 tornadoes after the Federal Emergency Management Agency twice rejected state requests for funding.

City Administrator Tim Gleason said the money Washington received from IDOT will be used for repair and reconstruction work on city property.

“Sidewalks, curbs, gutters, driveway entrances and roadways,” he said. “We have 24 months to use the money, and the clock is ticking.”

Manier and Alderman Dave Dingledine thanked city staff members for their quick work in getting IDOT the information it needed.

“They didn’t have much time,” Dingledine said.

Manier said there wasn’t a good time to do the work on Business Route 24, and having it done while nearby businesses already were struggling because of the tornado was a double whammy.

“But we’ll bounce back from this and trust that the road will be well-traveled when it’s open,” he said.

In other Washington tornado recovery-related news:

■ Police Chief Don Volk said patrols have increased in affected neighborhoods, especially on third shift, where officers have noticed open doors and windows in homes where construction work is being done.

Volk said an arrest was made recently of a suspect who allegedly stole items from a garbage bin on a work site.

■ Gleason said more than 725 work permits have been issued for the 1,108 homes destroyed or damaged by the tornado, and progress continues to be made on getting neglected and unsafe properties cleaned up.

■ Public Services Director Bill Bimrose said residents can take clean landscape waste to the city’s Dieble Road property for another two weeks.

Steve Stein can be reached at 686-3114 or stevestein21@yahoo.com. Read his Stein Time blog on pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpartanSteve.